WDB

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Thanks everyone for coming to crush gravel with such an outstanding attitude! All the smiles, maybe smiles of relief, the thanks and vows to return encourages us to get to organizing next year's event. Thank you all for the donations too! Your generosity has enabled us to have some seed money for next year's event so we won't be running out of coke, buns, pulled pork and vegetarian sloppy joes so quickly. We had 192 starters and 170 finishers!! Word!! Shouts out to all who showed up and rode! Shouts out to Karyn, Joan, Kristie, Philip, Kat and crew who volunteered and worked the checkpoint! They are really key to the success of the event. Big shouts to all who donated to the event:
HED - Every year we are fortunate enough to have support from the best wheel makers. They provided an Ardennes wheelset that was raffled off and congrats to Jon Friedell. He will be leading the pack on those!
Penn Cycle - Huge thanks to the support provided by Jim in the Penn Cycle mechanics van. He had the set up at the beginning and at the checkpoint. I know more than a few people got some issues taken care so it is good that they got your back!
Planet Bike - Each year we get a box of goods and this year the lights, patch kits and bags are greatly appreciated! Thems some good people over there!
Twin Six - T6 not only hook you up with the goods, they have gathered a group of supermen and wonder women who ride and rock thier goods. The waterbottles with discount coupon and an ever needed pair of quality socks went fast!
Banjo Brothers - The seat bags and the phone pack with handlebar mount never fail to disappoint. All there goods look great, work great are top notch! Every endurance ride and race I do with the help of Banjo Brothers!
Behind Bars - Not only does Behind Bars pop up in videos of the Y.N. Rich Kids, but they got the hook up when you are northeast. Check them out, give them a shout and thank them for the socks, shirts, hats and water bottles!
Caps Grille - You want some barbeque, hit Cap's up. It is the real deal as evident in the pulled pork that late comers fingered through since the buns ran out. Everything was finished and we will surely be getting more next year!
Hollywood Cycles - For every Dirty Benjamin, Hollywood has been there setting the bar. He kills it steady and brings some awesome goods to share. I had to hold back from grabbing something for myself. If you on the greenway, hit Hollywood up. You need a bike fit, hit Hollywood up. He is high on the cool kid list!
Barbieri PNK - A few randonneur bags were provided and scooped up!
One on One - Good coffee, great peeps, awesome stuff, always on, etc. Thanks for the megaphone hook-up!!
Chrome - They brought their RV and Hamm's for some beer flavored recover drink. They also provided some cover for us to log the returning riders. Thanks Dan and Amanda!!
Donkey Label - They gave us a stack of their handy phone protectors. A plus when riding gravel in the rain!
All the goods were gobbled up quickly so we will put the word out to get a few more donations for those that only saw empty tables once they arrived.
Category first finishers are:
Ted Loosen in 5:39 - Men
Ben Doom in 5: 51 - Singlspeed
Angie Kell in 5:53 - Women
John Thompson in 6:06 - Masters 50+
With all that written, don't forget to check the results by hitting the link there or up at the top of the page. There were a few errors in logging so if you do not see your name and know when you came in or with whom you rode, let us know and we will fix it.

Friday, June 14, 2013

So what is on the checklist to remind everyone of...
Print and bring:
Cue Sheets 1Cue Sheets 2
Also print out and sign the release form. If you are under 18, get at your parents or guardian and get that signature.
Release Form
OK...start location and timing
Schimelpfenig Park (Click on the Start/Finish push pin on left)
Chaska, MN
6:15 am - 7:45 am - Registration
7:46 am - 8:00 am - Staging
8:01 am - 8:00 pm - 100+ miles
10:00 am - 2:30 pm - Checkpoint is open
2:00 pm - Cap's Grille sliders till they gone
There is a posse riding out from Minneapolis bright and early...not sure of all the details but FB probably has some info. For those in the know though, if you have a bag, you can stash it in the park building while you are out crushing gravel. Word! Some things to remember are water, SUNSCREEN, snacks and your pedal power! Any support from friends, family, others can be had at the checkpoint as identified in the map above. You just gotta click the links on the left of the map and you will see where it's at. The Penn Cycle mechanic van will be at the checkpoint so if you need some fixin, they got your back. We will bring out a small bag of items if you need so no coolers, please.

Friday, June 7, 2013

We have the cue sheets saved so please download, print out, memorize, whatever you need to get from the start to the finish. I am not sure how many we will have printed out so to be sure, bring your own. There are two links for now, we will work on getting them into a single document but it is not high on the priority list right this second
Cue Sheets 1Cue Sheets 2
Also print out and sign the release form. If you are under 18, get at your parents or guardian and get that signature.
Release Form
One last thing, we ask that if you are planning on using a drop bag, please make it a plastic bag. We want to keep it all collapsible and easy to transport. No coolers or suitcases or anything like that. You can do it without the drop bag option. There is a water pump at the check point as well as stores in Watertown. We will check out other convenience options and post them.

First of all I gotta give a huge shout out to those donating goods!! They are really stepping up and are making this event special for everyone involved. Another shout out to all the folks showing up to ride!!

Word!!

The Westside Dirty Benjamin will be held at Schimelpfenig Park in Chaska, MN. It starts at an early 8:00 am so we will be there by 6:30 am for registration. Staging will begin at 7:45 am so git your breakfast on and git on over to Schimelpfenig early. There is a shelter at the park and a parking lot. The lot should hold 40 - 50 cars so if you show up later, there may not be much space for parking. Across the street is the VFW. Please do not park there. We don't want to take up their parking lot and please do not park in the parking lot for the Fireman's Park. You can pull along Creek Road for a spot but it is not the most comfortable. Best bet is to carpool but if that doesn't work out an option would be to park in the neighborhoods around Cedar and 5th St. You can see that in the map linked above. It is only a block away from the start/finish and the streets are wide.

For registration all we really need from you is a filled out release form. I will be emailing everyone the form and/or posting it to make things move quicker on the morning of the race so bring it all filled out. If you are under 18, have your parent/guardian sign it otherwise it's a no go for ya.

To qualify as a finisher of the Westside Dirty Benjamin, you gotta follow the cue sheets. You wanna do some cheatin, you are only cheatin yourself so stay home, yo. Nuff said. Regarding the cue sheets, stay tuned because they will be posted soon. Printing up yourself a set is the goal. We may not have enough the morning of so take control and do yourself a self service and be prepared!

If you pack a drop bag, we will take it to the checkpoint which is near Winsted, around 55 miles from the start. When you show up, volunteers will have the bags grouped by 10's and will help you locate it. Once finished with the bag, please give it back to a volunteer and they will load it into a car to return it to the start finish. We ask that you do not give us a cooler to haul out there...just a small bag of necessary items. Transporting 200 bags is the hardest part of the day to organize. We do not have many cars so space is tight. It could be a hot day and there is a water pump at the checkpoint. Some snacks for energy definitely help to have for the ride. The real challenge is to pack all you need for the century at the start. Watertown has a great coffee shop if you are gonna be interested in feeding or having a coffee or whatever but that is gonna be around mile 75 or so. The checkpoint will be open until 2:30 pm. At that point the volunteers will be cut loose and remaining bags will be brought back to the start/finish.

Ride on back to Chaska where you will see any family and friends cheering for you as you finish in Schimelpfenig park. The park facilities include a shelter, hoops, archery, horseshoes, a playground, pork sliders, swag table, lake with beach and big fun!! It's one of the longest days of the year so plan on hanging out and have fun.

For those who have not ridden in any 100 mile gravel races before, there are a few things you should know to help prepare yourself for the ordeal.

Keep going - No matter what you are thinking...keep pedaling. You will be stoked once you have completed the century. Like the Men's Warehouse guy says, "I guarantee it!"

When riding, keep aware of what is approaching you from the front and rear. If you find a nice line on the left side of the road, be especially careful of oncoming traffic, particularly on the hills. Most aren't expecting a bike to be in their face so try not to be. Be aware that traffic coming from behind you may catch up eventually and need to pass. Keep an ear open and let them go.

There are dogs about! There is always the potential for loose dogs and other animals but be careful of the chasing kind. A good acceleration can discourage many-a-dog but if that ain't there, a squirt of precious water may work, pepper spray, a switch, yelling or throw them that tainted steak you may be carrying around with ya. Please show some respect cause you could make that dogs day.

Ride your pace - The hills are not too bad at all so the fear of climbing is for the most part not there but be aware for the potential for looser gravel. I would rather not hear of any accidents. Rubber side down. You heard it here.

There are bathrooms at the start/finish. Woot!

The cue sheets contain lists of intersections and mileage. It is best to have an odometer to follow them. If not, many just follow the tracks and a person they are with or can see. Not necessary but do yourself a favor and ride with an odometer.

The cue sheet directions are the standard arrow pointing the direction you are going with the street names and mileage next to it. Sometimes the arrow points straight through an intersection. This could be done in case the street name changes or just to make you feel good.

You are responsible for yourself! No Sag wagon

Wave to folks if you wish and help a fellow rider if you want good karma.

The race cut off is going to be at 8:00 pm...that being said, we may still be hanging out after that but I hope that 12 hours is enough.

The categories are as follows: Open, Single/Fixed, Masters

There are grillin facilities at the park too so come prepared or you can always hit the local liq and food stores.